EDH Optimizer
Cloud of Darkness
Legendary Creature — Avatar · 2BGG
Color identity: Black · Green · Golgari
Cloud of Darkness is Golgari (black and green): its deck can only run cards of those colors plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
Flying
Particle Beam — When Cloud of Darkness enters, target creature an opponent controls gets -X/-X until end of turn, where X is the number of permanent cards in your graveyard.
Reference price of the card: €0.09
Average lands in decks for Cloud of Darkness: 36
GraveyardReanimatorComboDredgeFlashbackMillSelf-MillTempo
Build your Cloud of Darkness deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for Cloud of Darkness 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average Cloud of Darkness deck starts over 4,000 games
The list people actually play (the 99 most-included cards, with its average land count), simulated with the EDH Optimizer engine: hands, mulligans, lands, curve and commander. It does not model opponents; it measures whether the plan gets going.
Deck health of the average list: D (47/100)
- Consistency92
- Speed51
- Interaction48
- Resilience77
- Closing4
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 36 lands (25 nonbasic, 6 Swamp, 5 Forest)
Primal Witchstalker · Simulacrum Shaper · Sakura-Tribe Elder · Sol Ring · Eternal Witness · Arcane Signet · Honest Rutstein · Aftermath Analyst · Conjurer's Closet · Exdeath, Void Warlock // Neo Exdeath, Dimension's End · Timeless Witness · Diamond Weapon · Victimize · Syr Konrad, the Grim · Wight of the Reliquary · Colossal Grave-Reaver · Winter, Tormented Loner · Stitcher's Supplier · Meren of Clan Nel Toth · Reanimate · Summon: Titan · Ahriman · Haywire Mite · Rise of the Witch-king · Skull Prophet · Grisly Salvage · Dark Matter Manipulator · Gardenize · Hapatra, the Desert Fang · Lich's Relic · Pia, Aether Ascetic · Accursed Marauder · Birds of Paradise · Lord of Extinction · Vanille, Cheerful l'Cie · Satyr Wayfinder · Sheoldred, Whispering One · Spore Frog · Town Greeter · Assassin's Trophy · Fang, Fearless l'Cie · Nyx Weaver · Supernatural Stamina · Cauldron of Essence · Ripples of Undeath · Rise of the Dark Realms · Animate Dead · Fake Your Own Death · Fiend Artisan · Llanowar Elves · Brawn · Kaya's Ghostform · Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire · Old Stickfingers · Six · Breach the Multiverse · Dread Return · Entomb · Icetill Explorer · Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord · Reclamation Sage · Viscera Seer · Culling Ritual · Command Tower · Woodland Cemetery · Overgrown Tomb · Undergrowth Stadium · Verdant Catacombs · Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth · Evolving Wilds · Underground Mortuary · Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth · Tainted Wood · Boseiju, Who Endures · Deathcap Glade · Golgari Rot Farm · Fabled Passage · Phyrexian Tower · Llanowar Wastes · Takenuma, Abandoned Mire · Terramorphic Expanse · Wastewood Verge · Dakmor Salvage · Bojuka Bog · Exotic Orchard · Myriad Landscape · Temple of Malady · Temple of the False God
🃏 Recommended cards for Cloud of Darkness
The highest-synergy cards in decks for Cloud of Darkness, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Primal Witchstalker | 67% | +65% |
| Simulacrum Shaper | 67% | +64% |
| Conjurer's Closet | 44% | +44% |
| Exdeath, Void Warlock | 44% | +43% |
| Diamond Weapon | 43% | +42% |
| Timeless Witness | 44% | +41% |
| Winter, Tormented Loner | 40% | +39% |
| Honest Rutstein | 47% | +39% |
| Aftermath Analyst | 45% | +39% |
| Eternal Witness | 58% | +37% |
| Colossal Grave-Reaver | 40% | +37% |
| Ahriman | 35% | +35% |
| Summon: Titan | 36% | +34% |
| Hapatra, the Desert Fang | 33% | +33% |
| Sakura-Tribe Elder | 61% | +33% |
| Dark Matter Manipulator | 33% | +32% |
| Lich's Relic | 33% | +32% |
| Pia, Aether Ascetic | 33% | +32% |
| Vanille, Cheerful l'Cie | 32% | +31% |
| Stitcher's Supplier | 39% | +31% |
| Meren of Clan Nel Toth | 36% | +31% |
| Syr Konrad, the Grim | 42% | +30% |
| Wight of the Reliquary | 42% | +30% |
| Lord of Extinction | 32% | +30% |
💰 The best cards for your Cloud of Darkness deck, by budget
Three tiers based on the maximum price PER CARD you are willing to pay. Paste your list and hit Optimize: you pick that cap and the AI only suggests swaps that fit under it.
Tier 1 · Budget up to €2/card
The most value for almost nothing. Coming from a precon? Start here.
- Primal Witchstalker
- Simulacrum Shaper
- Diamond Weapon
- Timeless Witness
- Winter, Tormented Loner
- Honest Rutstein
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Conjurer's Closet
- Dark Matter Manipulator
- Fiend Artisan
- Rise of the Dark Realms
- Breach the Multiverse
- Ripples of Undeath
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Colossal Grave-Reaver
- Sheoldred, Whispering One
- Emrakul, the Exigent Doom
- Hexhaven Invigorator
- Lumra, Bellow of the Woods
- Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with Cloud of Darkness
- Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Pitiless Plunderer + Ashnod's Altar + Reassembling Skeleton → Infinite colorless mana, Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers
- Aetherflux Reservoir + Exquisite Blood → Infinite damage, Infinite lifegain triggers
- The Gitrog Monster + Dakmor Salvage → Infinite self-mill, Near-infinite self-discard triggers
- Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Ashnod's Altar → Infinite colorless mana, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite death triggers
- Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Phyrexian Altar → Infinite colored mana, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite death triggers
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is Cloud of Darkness's color identity?
Cloud of Darkness is Golgari (black and green): its deck can only run cards of those colors plus colorless ones. Color identity comes from every mana symbol on the card, including those in the rules text, not just the casting cost.
What turn does Cloud of Darkness come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average Cloud of Darkness deck (the 99 cards most played with it, with 36 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 4.9 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 93 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 28 % of the time and floods 11 %. Deck health: D (47/100).
How many lands should a Cloud of Darkness deck run?
Real Cloud of Darkness decks run 36 lands on average. That is a starting point, not a rule: a lower curve can shave one or two, big-mana builds want more. The EDH Optimizer simulator tells you, over 10,000 games, how often you get mana screwed or flooded with your exact count.
What are the best cards for Cloud of Darkness?
The three highest-synergy cards are Primal Witchstalker, Simulacrum Shaper, Conjurer's Closet. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in Cloud of Darkness decks.
What combos does Cloud of Darkness have?
Cloud of Darkness has 6 known combos. The most popular one is Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood. Note that two-card combos raise your deck's bracket, so it is worth knowing which ones you are running before you sit down.
How much does a Cloud of Darkness deck cost?
You can start cheap: Primal Witchstalker, Simulacrum Shaper, Diamond Weapon are under €2 each. The "Level up" section on this page splits the best cards into three price caps PER CARD (up to €2, up to €10 and no cap), and the optimizer only suggests swaps that fit the cap you pick.